The Supreme Court has stayed the order of the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court in the Katol Municipal Council President’s caste validity case. The Supreme Court (SC) passed the order before a Bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Shree Chandrasekhar. The High Court had earlier stayed the operation of the Caste Scrutiny Committee’s order which invalidated the caste claim of Katol Municipal Council President Archana Deshmukh. With the Supreme Court now staying the High Court order, the protection granted by the High Court will no longer operate. As a result, the order of the Caste Scrutiny Committee will come into effect. Archana Deshmukh will therefore have to vacate the office of President of Katol Municipal Council. The High Court, in its July 3 order, had found a prima facie case in favour of Deshmukh.

 

It had stayed the Scrutiny Committee’s June 19 order and the consequential orders passed by the authorities. The High Court had also observed that the Scrutiny Committee had not properly considered certain old documents showing the caste of Deshmukh’s forefathers as ‘Kunbi’. The Supreme Court order has now stayed the High Court’s interim protection. Senior Counsels Mukul Rohatgi and Gaurav Agrawal, along with Advocates Mohit Khajanchi and Mahesh Dhatrak, appeared for the petitioners Kalpana Sameer Umap and others before the SC.